ozpost shipping module

[RodG]

hello,
admin\includes\modules\product\collect_info.php has been updated in v1.3.9h to fix some problems described here http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showthread.php?t=165081
ozpost uses collect_info.php from 1.3.9g, i think its good to merge.

Thanks for that. I'll add this to the next update (assuming no more changes are needed).

It sure would be nice if the dev team would add the dimension fields as standard. We'd not need to touch any of the /admin/ files then :)

I find this to be the single biggest 'flaw' that zen-cart has, and one of the easiest to take care of. It's not like ozpost is the only shipping module that needs dimensional data, and they all add it in the same way (why re-invent the wheel?) and it isn't as though adding these fields will break existing installations, so the reasons why we are forced to jump though these /admin/ changes remains a mystery to me.

Anyway, thanks again for the merge.

Cheers
Rod

[annav]

A (very honest) customer alerted me today that my postage wasn't calculating properly and all postage costs come to 55c.

I did notice when I went in to check that it said the server was down (and still is as of now) but normally when this happens the flat rate option normally takes over.

Is anyone else having this problem and can anyone tell me why this was happening and why it was calculating a postage of 55c?

Anna

www.toycrazy.com.au

[RodG]

when I went in to check that it said the server was down (and still is as of now)

Yoiks, you need to update your module. The version you are using is really old, and only 'knows' about one of the ozpost.net servers.
We now have three of them online, on different networks, but only the later modules are aware of their existence.

but normally when this happens the flat rate option normally takes over.

This behavior would still occur *if* the problem was failing to connect to the server. This isn't actually the case though, which is why you are getting the 55cent quotes.

Is anyone else having this problem

Hopefully not, but I am keeping a watchful eye on things at the moment, on account of the fact ozpost has recently reached its 1st year (plus 60 days) as a subscription based service, which means that a number of people that registered for 12months are now coming up for renewal.

and can anyone tell me why this was happening and why it was calculating a postage of 55c?

The amount of 55c consists of your 50cent handling fee, and a 5cent postage 'cost'. The 5cent 'cost' is what makes it a valid 'quote' and prevents the module from falling back to the static rate option ('flat rate' in your version of the module).

This 'quote' will appear with the description
"The site owner's subscription to our service has expired. This quote is currently unavailable. Please contact the store owner for shipping costs".

Needless to say, the idea is to draw attention to the merchant as soon as possible to alert them to the fact that something is amiss. Without this (admittedly crude) behavior a merchant could go for months thinking it was a server problem.

Most versions of the ozpost module are coded to generate reminder emails before subscriptions expire, but the early versions didn't have this capability.

Anyway, to sum up, it appears that your subscription expired just a day or two ago. As this has obviously caught you by surprise I've just extended it out by another week so as to get your store fully functional again. (renew at ozpost.net)

Cheers
Rod

[annav]

Anyway, to sum up, it appears that your subscription expired just a day or two ago. As this has obviously caught you by surprise I've just extended it out by another week so as to get your store fully functional again. (renew at ozpost.net)

Cheers
Rod

Thats strange, because it says I still have 164 remaining days to go?

[RodG]

Thats strange, because it says I still have 164 remaining days to go?

I'll wager that it has been saying that for the last 6 months (well, about 160 days ago).

I don't know what it is about the old module that you are using that has caused it to stop reporting the true number of days remaining (which obviously isn't going to help matters), but the expiration details stored on the server shows the expiration date was 9/10/11 (12mnths sub taken out on Monday 04 October, 2010).

I assume that the quotes are working again since I updated the expiration? If so, it *should* be showing 6 or 7 days remaining. If it still shows 164 days then you have yet another reason to upgrade.

If for some reason you are still not getting valid quotes, and the days remaining hasn't changed, then there is something else amiss as well as the lapsed subscription status. Although improbable, it isn't something to be ruled out.

I would still need to ask you to upgrade though, because whatever the cause of the problem, it has long been fixed.

Cheers
Rod

[divine]

I am thinking of using this module but have a question re Fastway quotes - what destination data is it based on?
I have just discovered at some cost that Fastway freight is not necessarily calculated on postcode - there might be multiple towns with the same postcode and the freight varies significantly between them.
Does this module check town or posctode or both?

[RodG]

I have just discovered at some cost that Fastway freight is not necessarily calculated on postcode - there might be multiple towns with the same postcode and the freight varies significantly between them.

This is true.

Does this module check town or postcode or both?

Both, but using the following 'rules'.

If postcode and suburb are both provided, a name lookup is performed on the postcode to ensure the name has a valid match. If so, then both values provided are used.

If the lookup fails, for example, if a person enters 3000 for the postcode, and Adelaide for the suburb, the test will fail, and the quote will be based on the first name that does match the postcode. In this example, Melbourne.

If no suburb name is provided, again, the first suburb name in the lookup list will be used.

In either case, the suburb name that is *actually* used is sent back to the client and displayed in the shipping estimator.

There are many reasons why a legitimate postcode/name may fail, misspelling being very common.

One problem that has been identified is when it comes to the 2000 postcode, which we all know to be 'Sydney', is that if this is misspelt (yes, it happens), or not supplied, the lookup again returns the first name in the list, which is " BARANGAROO", and for some reason or other, FastWay consider this as an invalid destination suburb, and no quotes are returned.

To mitigate against these problems, the latest versions of the ozpost module uses a little bit of JavaScript to provide a list of suburb names for the customer to select from (where needed).

Cheers
Rod

[annav]

I'll wager that it has been saying that for the last 6 months (well, about 160 days ago).

I don't know what it is about the old module that you are using that has caused it to stop reporting the true number of days remaining (which obviously isn't going to help matters), but the expiration details stored on the server shows the expiration date was 9/10/11 (12mnths sub taken out on Monday 04 October, 2010).

I assume that the quotes are working again since I updated the expiration? If so, it *should* be showing 6 or 7 days remaining. If it still shows 164 days then you have yet another reason to upgrade.

If for some reason you are still not getting valid quotes, and the days remaining hasn't changed, then there is something else amiss as well as the lapsed subscription status. Although improbable, it isn't something to be ruled out.

I would still need to ask you to upgrade though, because whatever the cause of the problem, it has long been fixed.

Cheers
Rod

Yes, it's all working OK now. I also renewed my subscription but I never received any confirmation. Should I have?

It's still showing 164 days to go, but I still have to upgrade to the latest version.

Anna
www.toycrazy.com.au

[The wizzard]

Hi RodG -

I am a subscriber and my ozpost module is not working correctly and only showing $4.05 for anyware I put in, it could be the same problem with renewing can you please check.

http://www.gogoandco.com

thanks mate, I may have got an renewal notice on a defunt email address.

Tyler

[RodG]

it could be the same problem with renewing can you please check.

thanks mate, I may have got an renewal notice on a defunt email address.

It appears that your subscription expired last week. I've given it a 7 day extension so it should be working again now.

It appears that you are still using v1.0.2 of the module. It would be prudent to update this as soon as possible. You'll find the latest V3.x.x series to be a lot faster, a lot more reliable, with a lot more supported methods.

Cheers
Rod